Chalk this up to SUPER RIDICULOUS and also REALLY ANNOYING. TMZ got their hands on 16 year old Casey Bishop’s American Idol contract. All contracts with minors need to be approved by a Los Angeles judge. That also means the contents of those contracts become part of the public record.
No, TMZ, the Summer Tour is not a thing
What’s annoying, is that TMZ chose the stupidest possible frame for the information they managed to get their hands on–the summer tour. You know, the summer tour WHICH ISN’T HAPPENING THIS SEASON AT ALL. The headline blares: “‘American Idol’ Star Casey Bishop Screw a Summer Job … Going On Tour $ounds Nice!!!” As if she had actually said that. Spoiler alert: They didn’t interview her. The outlet quotes some figures from the contract the Top 24 signs, which obviously contains a bunch of boilerplate provisions.
But if it WAS a thing, here’s what Casey would have earned
If the gang goes on tour this season, TMZ reports, “Casey would make $1,750/week for her musical performances, $1,200/week for rehearsals and $500 per non-musical appearance at things like meet-and-greets. She also gets a cut of the tour merchandise profit.”
Gosh. Check out all that dough the fourth place finisher is missing out on. Hilariously TMZ is all “[Casey] could rake in a bunch of money if everything goes right … starting with her being chosen for the ‘AI’ Live Tour.” TMZ’s piece could have been worthwhile, starting with employing even a sliver of LOGIC. If the summer tour was a thing, Idol brass would have announced it months ago, and most importantly, before the American Idol season ended.
By the way, only ABC’s American Idol season 1 (2018) got a tour. The Top 7 went out with season 8 winner Kris Allen as the MC and headliner. Also, the final season of American Idol on FOX in 2016 didn’t get a tour either.
And the American Idol winner’s album advance is…
What’s maddening is how TMZ doesn’t divulge anything else from the contract. At the end of the piece they tack on, “BTW … had the ‘AI’ fan favorite won the whole thing she could have scored a sweet $250k advance on her record deal … and made even more with sales and royalties.”
TMZ reported no other details on the winners’ or other finalists’ compensation packages.
American Idol minor contracts over the years
Reporting on American Idol minor contestant contracts is nothing new. Because the contracts are readily available, they have been reported on over the years. For instance, here’s a rundown of season 17 singer Madison VanDenburg’s contract. And season 11 runner-up Jessica Sanchez’s contract, who was 17 at the time. And check out the contracts of season 10’s winner and runner-up, Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina, both teens at the time.
Maybe another outlet will get ahold of Casey’s contract and do a fuller report.
